YardBlog

​We had our unofficial first frost last night. It wasn’t the official, official first frost…that should be around Nov. 10ish. But last night we got a frost that hardly coated windshields and melted at the first sign of sunshine. This first frost marks an important moment in the changing of the seasons. It means that within just a couple more weeks all of the grasses and perennials in our gardens will go dormant and we won’t see them again till next spring. So now is the time to turn your sights on bring nature indoors to enjoy.

​The first frost also means winter is just around the corner. So as your plants start to go to sleep outdoors, it’s a great to time think about bring some greenery indoors. The best part of bring nature in is that there’s lots of ways to have beautiful plants decorating your home or office in the coldest times of the year. Plus there are tons of benefits for doing it.

Benefits of Indoor LifeThe obvious first benefit is that leafy things dotting the interior of a workspace or living area is that they make the place more attractive. Beauty is always a wonderful addition to any situation. But there’s more benefits beyond is their good looks. Surrounding yourself with plants can mean being healthier mentally, emotionally and physically. Just seeing green leaves and lively stems can reduce stress in people. A lush corner filled with potted ferns or other indoor plants can help someone forget about a rough day at work and relax them during a weekend. This reduction of stress translates into lower blood pressure and normalized bodily functions.

Plants also help to filter indoor air. It’s a little dirty secret that indoor air is often more polluted than outside air, so adding plants throughout a house can allow them to naturally de-dirty the stuff you are breathing. NASA did a fairly famous study that found about a dozen plants that filter indoor air the best.

Beautiful LeavesDecorating your space with plants can be as easy as potting a few options, or you can opt into creating a green wall in your space to be one part indoor garden, one part piece of art. A quick Google for best indoor plants will introduce you to things like Bromeliads, Pothos and Tillandsia. All of these are very low maintenance choices. If you really want to get the best results try to discover the art of potting plants by coupling the pot with the plant. Use design ideas that match and contrast the color and texture of the pot with the plants you choose. This approach will give you a greater aesthetic punch for whatever you choice. Of course, with literally thousands of ways to liven up an interior with a few beautiful potted plants the trick is having fun with all of the selections.

Living Walls​The next level is a green wall, also known as a living wall. Living walls come with a little more maintenance, but they also come with a greater overall impact to your space. They can be designed to be nearly self-sustaining. Some systems can water themselves while others can remind you to water them by hand. The high-tech living walls will even send you selfies to remind you of how beautiful they are during the day. Because living walls are typically larger than a potted plant, you will need more plants to create them. More plants mean more of the benefits I mentioned earlier such as stress relief and improved air quality. They also have the potential of transforming a space with huge impact of color and texture. In terms of picking the right plants for a living wall, you can use everything from herbs like basil and thyme to fern like Sword and Rabbit’s foot fern to lilies.

The most important thing about interior landscape design is to couple the desire for foliage with the overall light a room will naturally (or artificially) get with humidity requirements and watering needs. With some of the living wall systems that water themselves can have plant food added to feed your plants as they drink.

It’s getting cold outside, but life can get started right now indoors.

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About YardBlog

The goal is to make this blog a resource for helpful tips and sustainable ideas. I create original content that shows projects in progress and the behind-the-scenes of installation. And, I try to have as much fun as I can doing it.